During the Super Bowl, Bud Light aired a commercial touting the fact that it doesn’t use corn syrup in its beer. It’s a great message, but it didn’t take into account one important fact: Corn syrup is used in a number of beers made by Bud Light’s parent company, including some products bearing the “Bud Light” name.
Corn syrup is listed as one of the main ingredients in a number of AB-InBev beers, including Bud Ice, Busch, Busch Ice, Busch Light, King Cobra, Natural Ice, Natural Light, and every single one of the “Ritas” products that also prominently show the “Bud Light” name on their cans.
While the ad’s intention was to suggest that beers using corn syrup were of lower quality, AB may have not taken into account that it was throwing its other beers under the bus with that statement.
The ad is technically true of traditional Bud Light— it doesn’t contain any corn syrup. But it’s an odd message to promote when so many of the company’s other products do contain corn syrup, and many others include actual corn, Beervana notes.
Corn farmers also weren’t impressed with the ad. Shortly after it aired, The National Corn Growers Association tweeted a message to Bud Light saying that it was “disappointed” in the company and suggesting they reach out to discuss corn’s benefits.
